In 1941, the Pacific island of Guam — considered a US territory since the Spanish American War — was invaded by the Japanese Imperial Army. The Japanese held the island until 1944, when US Marines hit the beach and forcibly evicted them. Now, 66 years later, US forces have again hit the beaches, only this time it’s not the Marines, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, and their targets aren’t Japanese, but Chinese.
Following an undercover investigation, a Guam court has frozen more than a dozen bank accounts linked to members of the island’s Overseas Chinese Association Center. In 1998, the organization received permission to run bingo games and was granted tax exempt status based on its stated mission of providing money for off-island travel for the medically indigent.
The feds got suspicious that something was up when the alleged charity’s claims to have disbursed over $400k couldn’t be corroborated by receipts showing only $8k in payouts. Further investigation involving covert agents with hidden cameras revealed that the facilities hosting the ‘charity’ bingo games were offering cash poker games in the basement, which moved upstairs once the bingo games had ended for the day. The ‘house’ reportedly took a 5% rake on each pot, and offered loans to players who’d busted out.
Man… And here we thought the Feds were only cracking down on eCom relating to pure poker online operations…
